Abstract

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is one of the most common neurological disorders of the central nervous system leading to inflammation and destruction of the myelin sheath covering the nerve fibers of the brain and spinal cord. There is no definitive test for the diagnosis of MS. Differential diagnoses of MS include extensive inflammatory diseases, and autoimmune and collagen vascular disorders. To rule out the differential diagnoses of MS, many clinical, laboratory, and imaging tests may be used. The aim of this study was to evaluate the results of immunological tests in monosymptomatic patients for ruling out some of the differential diagnosis of MS. Methods: This was a descriptive study on patients who met the McDonald Criteria of monosymptomatic MS for evaluating immunological tests in them. Data obtained were analyzed using SPSS software version 20, and Chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests. Results: The study consisted of 49 patients and controls. The mean age of the patients was 30.16 ± 9.12 years. In patients group, 11 (22.4%)men and 38 (77.6%)women were studied. The immunological tests were found to be positive in the range of 0 to 18% of examined patients in different tests. None of the performed tests changed significantly in our patients in comparison to control group. Conclusion: According to these results, we could confirm that serial clinical examinations are preferable to expensive immunological tests for the exclusion of the differential diagnosis of patients with MS.